Posts in Category: how to

Often, PC enthusiasts will speak of overclocking the way car enthusiasts discuss high-performance engines, with megahertz and voltage taking the place of horsepower and torque. Overclocking is often a relatively simple way to squeeze out extra performance from computer components; however, problems sometimes do arise. Luckily, most problems faced with overclocking are easily fixed with some basic troubleshooting techniques.

For our purposes, we’ll look at issues affecting the components that are overclocked the most: the CPU and GPU.

Your computer has faithfully been by your side for all these years. You can’t replace it (for whatever reason), but with Christmas coming up, you decide it’s time to give your little friend a much-deserved gift.

Or maybe it’s frustrating you with sluggishness. Either way, you’ve got a great excuse to give it a little performance boost. What I’m here to do is to help you figure out what you can do to upgrade your older system on a budget.

This list is more suited to people who fit the following:

You focus on gaming or productivity tasks

You might use these components in another computer build

It is okay if the above doesn’t quite apply to you. This info can still be really helpful. Just keep in mind that you might have different upgrade options than listed.

It is safe to say that PC gaming is vastly different to console gaming. Players on PC have a much greater ability to customize and refine their experience, and the most powerful PCs put consoles to shame in terms of the quality of the experience that they offer.

However, with the almost infinite number of potential hardware and software combinations for PC gamers, there are pitfalls to be avoided.

Developers can’t account for every possibility when they are testing their games for bugs. Developers also can’t optimize their brand new games to run on computer parts from many years ago. Similarly, internet connections sometimes don’t live up to the standards promised. This is why you should be prepared to research around to find the best internet plan. This means scouring locally to find the right one for you. And finally, certain games may end up being restricted to certain areas of the world for various reasons.

Whether your problem is related to your graphics processing power, the quality of your internet connection, or something else entirely—there are a number of ways you can try to fix these issues. We’re going to go through some of the most important ways in this article.

Bandwidth throttling can negatively affect many professional and casual internet users.
Nothing is worse than sitting around enjoying your favorite TV show on Netflix in all its 4K glory and then, suddenly, you notice that the video quality has dropped, and the picture isn’t as sharp as it was a few moments ago. You go and check your internet speed and notice that, despite paying for a 100Mbps connection, you’re only getting 20Mbps download speed.
How is this happening, and what’s causing it?

In the big wide world of hard drives, SSDs, and fancy CPU tech, we felt it was about time to have a bit of a dive into data transfer rates so you know exactly what kind of speed and overall bandwidth you’re getting for your money!

My black-and-white build with blue carbon fiber wrap, without its side panels

I am not an opponent of LEDs… in moderation. My own PC case has a strip of white NZXT LEDs running all the way around the edges of the inside, just to provide a nice, cool, even illumination. But it is simply beyond doubt that LEDs are one of the most common and most divisive aesthetic accents in the PC hardware world, and their ubiquity is only increasing as manufacturers are shoving them into everything.

Whether you’re looking for ideas for how to give your build some visual flair without the glow, or just hoping to meaningfully supplement your LED array’s existing look, seek no further.

With the release of the PlayStation 4 Pro over the holidays, the debate over the performance needed for 4K gaming on PC has been fierce. With games like Last of Us Remastered running in the PlayStation 4 Pro’s 4K 60 FPS mode, it is a testament to the level of optimization that can be achieved when working to a single specification. Yet what sort of performance can a PC builder get for the same $400?

By far the most overlooked component in new builds is the power supply unit, or PSU. Ironically, it’s one of the most important. Your power supply will be pumping the lifeblood of precious volts to each and every electronic part in your fancy new computer.

A catastrophic failure of a power supply can fry every other part in your PC, or in rare cases even start a life-threatening fire at 2:00 in the morning. Why risk a disaster like this to save the equivalent of four grande mochaccinos from that fancy coffee shop?

You’ve got all your PC parts together. How do you ensure building them is a smooth process? Start by reading this.

Building a PC is generally not too difficult, though it can certainly feel daunting the first time. With a good guide and a screwdriver, it should only take a matter of hours — or even less — to transform a bunch of carefully selected parts into the system of your dreams.

When building a PC, there are definitely certain parts that are harder than others. Here, we describe four of the most challenging aspects of building a PC (suggested by our social media communities on Facebook and Twitter), and then provide some tips for how to avoid them.